Transportable container



Dec. 22, 1964 P. D. T. HUTCHINS ETAL 3,162,331

TRANSPORTABLE CONTAINER Filed Sept. 25, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet l Farm Dal/64,93 THkOSSElL flora/0V5 PETER TERR/CK ST/Il/VFORT/l 1964 P. D. T. HUTCHINS ETAL 3,162,331

TRANSPORTABLE CONTAINER Filed Sept. 25, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 F I G. 2 u

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197 7 /?NE Y5 1964 P. D. 'r. HUTCHINS ETAL 3,162,331

TRANSPORTABLE CONTAINER Filed Sept. 25, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 PETER DOUGLAS THROSSE I/UI'CbV/VS PETER TERR/CK STfl/IVFORTH United States Patent Ofi ice 3,162,331 Patented Dec. 22, 1964 3,162,331 TRANSPQR'EABLE CGNTAHQER Peter Douglas Throssell Hutchins, Hatfield, and Peter Terrick Stainforth, Knebworth, England, assignors to Imperial (Ihemical Industries Limited, London, England, a corporation of Great Britain Filed Sept. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 140,294 (:laims priority, application Great Britain, @et. 27, 196 9, 37,02ll/6E) 16 Claims. Cl. 222-484) This invention relates to improvements in transportable containers, particularly to containers for transporting powdery or granular materials in bulk.

Various containers have been devised for transporting powdery or granular materials in bulk, e.g. in lots of one ton or more. In all cases, however, there have been disadvantages in the methods required for emptying these containers, e.g. by requiring special mechanical facilities for handling the containers, or these containers have been difiicult to clean out.

It is an object of this invention to provide transportable containers that can be emptied and cleaned easily, and are simple to construct and handle. It is a further object to provide such containers which are relatively light but at the same time strong and resilient.

According to the present invention we provide a container for transporting granular or powdery materials in bulk which comprises a substantially rectangular boxlike containing-vessel preferably of at least 30 cubic feet capacity. The container has four generally flat sides and one end convergent to form a cone-like or pyramid-like end to said container terminating in an aperture for filling and emptying, the non-convergent straight sides of said container having a vertical skirt-like portion that surrounds said convergent end and extends beyond said ape 'ture. The skirt-like portion has attached to its open end a rigid structure providing supporting surfaces to support said container when in its normal standing position with the convergent end downwards and having fiat horizontal lifting surfaces on either side of said convergent end which are downwardly directed and spaced vertically above said supporting surfaces when the container is in said normal standing position to provide lifting surfaces for the arms of a lifting device. The container and skirt are formed from a resilient impact resistant thermoplastic organic polymeric material. By the term horizontal as used throughout this specification it is to be understood that we mean the horizontal position when the container is supported with its straight side walls vertical.

In order that our invention may be more easily understood one embodiment thereof will be described with reference to the attached drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of our container and FIGURES 2a and b are a sectional side elevation of a closing device for the container. FIGURES 3a and b illustrate a sampling device incorporated in our container.

In FTGURE l the container and its support are shown separately for greater ease of illustrating the invention. The container is shown at l and is fabricated or moulded by normal techniques from polythene. It consists essentially of a rectangular box one end of which is closed by the convergent end 2 which has a circular aperture 3. The four vertical walls extend beyond the convergent end to form a skirt 4. The four side walls are embossed with ribs to increase their rigidity.

The supporting stand is a rectangular framework shown at 5 and is normally attached by rivets or bolts to the skirt; the top of the stand has the recessed portion 8 which fits into the skirt. It is made from steel and has on either side the two open-ended, hollow, parallel tubelike members 6 and 7 of rectangular cross-section which are adapted to receive the tines of a fork lift truck. The stand can be made from any suitable rigid strong material in addition to galvanised or stainless steel, e.g. a light aluminium alloy or a rigid plastic e.g. a fibre glass reinforced polyester laminate.

Alternative means may be provided to form the lifting surfaces. Instead of the rectangular tube-like members, feet may be provided at the four corners in which case the structure carrying the feet will provide the lifting surfaces. It is important that the distance between the plane containing the supporting surfaces of the supporting members at the convergent end, i.e.', the actual surface of the framework which rests on the factory floor and the plane containing the lifting surfaces should be sufficient to enable the arms or" the lifting device to be inserted and that there should be'no obstructions preventing the passage of the lifting arm from one side of the framework to the other. The distance between the planes need not be more than about one inch, although for design purposes greater distances, e.g. up to six inches or more may be used.

These containers are intended for the transportation of granular or powdery materials in bulk. To achieve this purpose and to avoid the disadvantage of having containers that are too large to handle easily, we prefer that the container should be capable of holding about one ton of material. Containers having base dimensions of from 2 to 4 feet and height of from 4 to 7 feet are particularly useful.

The size of the opening 3 should be sufficient to allow filling and emptying to proceed easily, and also to allow the container to be cleaned without difficulty. For cleanin" purposes we prefer that the opening should not be less than 18 inches in diameter to allow a man to enter. To facilitate emptying the container while keeping the flow of material under cont ol it may be desirable to include a valve in the closing device. The closing device may, therefore, be a lid clamped over the opening by conventional means, into which a valve is fitted so that emptying can take place without removing the lid. For example, the closing device can itself have an opening fitted with a lid and a flexible tube attached to the opening, the tube lying within the container when the lid is in position. The tube can be made for example of fabric, thermoplastic film, rubber, or rubber fabric, and can be fitted with a cord or like means to keep it closed. In order to allow material to flow from the container the small lid is first removed and the flexible tube allowed to protrude from the container. Flow of material is then controlled by loosening or tightening the cord.

Alternatively a valve may be used of the type illus trated in FIGURES 2a and b of the attached drawings.

This closure is a cone which is adapted to fit on to the opening of the container and to be retained in position during transportation. This means that the opening of the container (3 in FEGURE l) is formed at a height such that when the cone closure is fitted, the closure is contained within the supporting structure. FTGURE 2a is a part elevational section through the opening of the container and the cone fitting. The wall of the container is shown at 25 terminating in a threaded opening 26. On to the threaded opening is screwed the cast aluminium alloy ring 27. This ring has a flange with threaded holes to receive a screw 28.

The cone fitting is shown at 2.9 and can be made from the same material as the container. its lower edge has a cylindrical face to mate with the cylindrical surface of the opening of the container. It will be appreciated that the mating surfaces 3% could if desired be frusto-conical. The lower edge of the cone also has a flange 31 which has holes corresponding with those on flanged ring 27. The cone fitting is secured in position by the die cast aluminium alloy ring member 32 which carries holes corres-v ponding with those in the fiangesi27 and 31 with which it is secured to the ring 27 by means of screws 28.

The upper part of the cone fitting terminates in 'a circular opening bounded by the cylindrical externally threaded projection 33. On to this is screwed the cap 34. The cone fitting is also provided with a sock type valve. In this embodiment this takes the formof a piece of flexible polythene .tube' (or other strong tubular material) folded'back on itself roundthe steel ring 35 to form a double wmled tube as shown in FIGURE 21). The

7 steel ring carrying the tube is'pressed into the recess in the cone fittingas shown; The open end of thepolythene screwed on to the threaded end of the tube that extends outside the container.

is used. We prefer, however, that the opening should be tube can be tied with a cord to provide a closure when p the cap 34 is removed."

The conical fitting is conveniently made of the same material as the container, or it can be made of any other suitable material e.g. another plastic material e.g'.; nylon or polypropylene or a rubber/resin mixture, or a metal;

If the container neck and conical end iitting'are each" moulded from a thermoplastic organic polymeric material we prefer to secure the truncated conical end fitting to the I neck of the container bymeansof a conventional drum This may be done forv example by lid closure band. I omitting the threaded ring27 shown in FIGURE 2a and providing the parts 2-6 and 31 of the container and conical end fitting respectively with cylinder surfaces of the same diameter and preferably bevelled edges, round which the closure band can be fixed.

O-ring of soft rubber or of synthetic rubber be placed in the recess so that it is held under radial compression when the truncated conical end fitting isheld position by the closure band. 7

If it is desired to remove small samples of the contents of our container this may be achieved in a particularly simple manner. i in FIGURESSa and 3b where the convergent wall'ofthe container is provided with an opening in a recessed part of said convergent wall and said opening hasattached thereto a tube extending vertically into said container'and -is provided with a closure at the opening at'said wall.

In FIGURE 3a, the container 1 is shown without its supporting framework. The convergent end 2 has the recessed portion 49 which has a circular opening to which the sampling tube d1 is attached. The method by which the sampling tube is attached to the container is shown which these fittings may be made is polythene.- Y

Tubes of any'desir'ed height may be fitted into our container The tube may also be used toIfill the container with an inert gas where this may be desired to protect any material held in'thecontainer. Byhaving a tube that extends almost to the full height of the container,

it is possible to use the device to assist in discharging materials that flow with difficulty. This may be done by connecting the lower end to a source of gas pressure and pressurisingthe contents of the container.

The tube may be attached to the-container inany con venient manner, and in general [this is most-usefully I We also prefer that the top inner edge of the container opening be recessedand an The sampling arrangement is illustrated plug 46 and" the screw cap 47. The sampling tube, its securing ring, plug and cap may be made ofany convenient material. "A particularly useful material from I may be formed The sides of the convergent end'of the container need not be almost wholly tla't. As the sides converge to the opening they may be curved; so that the funnel becomes conical rather than pyramidal. The. opening can be of any convenient shape. For example, where the sides of the convergent end are mainly flat it may be preferred to allow the opening to be rectangularand thereby avoid the need for curving the sides as when a circular opening circular because this simplifies the methods by which the closure can be attached to'the opening.

The substantially fiat sides of the container need not meet at right angles, since it may be convenient for constructional brother purposesto use other shapes at the edges, e.g. curved or flattened edges, provided that the main part of each of the four vertical sides is substantially flat. It is to be understood that the sides of the container with ribs or other means to increase their rigidity. I x i *I The skirt-like portion of the container" may be an integral part of the container walls e.g. it may form part of the same sheet or moulding from which the container is formed. Alternatively it maybe formed sepa-' rately and attached, e.g. by welding to the container walls. I 3 In some instances 'it may be desired to lift our containers by means of anpverhead lifting device, and for this lugs can easily be fixed on the four corners remote from the convergent end, or in any othersuit able place. A Examples of resilient impact-resistant; polymeric materials from which our containers may be-made include polythene, polypropylene, nylon, laminates of polyvinvl chloride and glass fibre/polyester laminates, and the high impact strength rubber/resin compositions e.g. mixtures of butadiene/acrylonitrile copolymer rubbers and styrene/ acrylonitrileresins. The container can consist of a single thickness'of one of these materials or it can be formed from a' plurality of layers of these materials. The latter form may be'preferred where it is desired to include colouring materials, light stabilising materials or other ingredients into e.g.' thel outer layer but not theinner layer.

stand provides ,many advantages.

The. thickness or the walls of the container may be varied according to its sizeand material of constructi'ombut for polythene which is a particularly useful material to make our containers from, we find that thicknesses of from 8 mrmto 12 mm. are adequatev The provision of :1 containing vessel made wholly from a resilient, impact resistant thermoplastic organic polymeric material supported on a relatively simple frame Such a container is relatively light, cheap to make. and easy to clean. Also,

it makes possible the transportation ofpowdery and graneffected by providingthe tube with a thickened portion 7 against the inner surface of the recessed part anda ring ular materials in bulk from the producing factory to the place where the contents are to be used.

We claim 1. A container for powdery materials orthe like comprising: a substantially rectangular:box-like container'having four generally flat sides and a convergent "lower end terminating in a circular aperture-for filling and emptying'purposes, the

flat sides-of-'said container also terminating in a skirt portion surrounding said convergent end; and extending beyond said aperture; a rigid structurehaving surfaces constructedfandarranged to support the end of said containerwithits convergent end downward; and a truncated cone-like fitting removably secured to said :opening and contained within said, rigid structure,- said fitting including a sock-type valve having one circular end secured to the wall ofsaid fitting, said structure including flat, generally horizontal lifting surfaces on "either side'of said convergent end,said lifting surfaces being downwardly directed and spac'ed vertically above said supporting surface whensaid container is in'said normal standing posibulk transportation of granular,-

tion and thereby operative to accommodate the arms of a lifting apparatus, said container and skirt being formed of resilient, impact-resistant, thermoplastic, or-ganic, polymeric material.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 including an upwardly extending skirt on said rigid structure adapted to mate with the depending skirt of said container and means for removably securing said skirts one to another whereby said container and said rigid structure may be transported as a unitary assembly.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said convergent end is a pyramid-like extension of the four flat sides.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said convergent end is a cone-like extension of the four flat sides.

5. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said skirtlike portion is an integral part of the flat sides of the container.

6. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said skirtlike portion is a separately-formed part and is attached to the flat sides of the container.

7. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said container vessel is formed of polythene.

8. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said container is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, nylon, laminates of polyvinylchloride, glass fiber laminates of polyesters, and high impact strength compositions containing rubber and resin.

9. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said rigid structure comprises a rectangular framework having along two parallel sides, two open-ended tube-like hollow members of rectangular cross-section.

10. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said conelike closure fitting includes a threaded cap.

11. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said conelike closure fitting is formed of polythene.

112. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said conelike closure fitting is formed of a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminium and light aluminium alloys.

13. The structure defined in claim 1 including a sampling device comprising a tube extending vertically into the containing vessel and from a recessed part formed in the sloping part of said convergent end, said recessed part having a circular horizontal opening through which said tube passes, securing means holding the tube fixedly to said recessed part, and a screw cap being provided to close the external open end of said tube.

14. The structure defined in claim 13 wherein said tube is attached to said recessed part by a thickened portion which bears against the inner horizontal surface of the recessed part and a ring screwed on to the threaded end of the tube projecting externally from said recessed part. i

15. The structure defined in claim 13 in which said tube is made from polythene.

16. For use in the bulk transportation of granular material, a lightweight, high-strength, low cost container constructed of resilient, impact-resistant thermoplastic polymeric material comprising: a substantially rectangular box-like container having four generally fiat sides and a convergent lower end terminating in a circular aperture for filling and emptying purposes, the flat sides of said container being integral with a skirt portion surrounding said convergent end and extending beyond said aperture, said skirt portion also being of resilient, impact-resistant thermoplastic polymeric material; a rigid supporting frame removably secured to said skirt portion, said frame having surfaces constructed and arranged to support the end of said container with its convergent end downward; and a truncated cone-like fitting removably secured to said opening and contained within said rigid structure, said fitting including a sock-type valve having one circular end secured to the wall of said fitting, said rigid frame including fiat generally horizontal lifting surfaces on either side of said convergent end, said lifting surfaces being downwardly directed and spaced vertically above said supporting surface when said container is in said normal standing position and thereby operative to accommodate the arms of a lifting apparatus.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,293,160 8/42 Miller et al.

2,400,955 5/46 Samel 222464 X 2,555,537 6/51 Framing 222- X 2,808,968 10/57 House 222-527 X 2,862,645 12/58 Page et a1 222184 X 3,083,879 4/63 Coleman 222185 X LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner. RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER FOR BULK TRANSPORTATION OF GRANULAR, POWDERY MATERIALS OR THE LIKE COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR BOX-LIKE CONTAINER HAVING FOUR GENERALLY FLAT SIDES AND A CONVERGENT LOWER END TERMINATING IN A CIRCULAR APERTURE FOR FILLING AND EMPTYING PURPOSES, THE FLAT SIDES OF SAID CONTAINER ALSO TERMINATING IN A SKIRT PORTION SURROUNDING SAID CONVERGENT END AND EXTENDING BEYOND SAID APERTURE; A RIGID STRUCTURE HAVING SURFACES CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO SUPPORT THE END OF SAID CONTAINER WITH ITS CONVERGENT END DOWNWARD AND A TRUNCATED CONE-LIKE FITTING REMOVABLY SECURED TO SAID OPENING AND CONTAINED WITHIN SAID RIGID STRUCTURE, SAID FITTING INCLUD- 